Thor: Not of My Blood
by NothingSoSpecial
Summary: A hundred years have passed since Thor left Asgard, and at the eventual loss of his friends, he has since returned, forced to retake the crown that caused so much grief. But when Loki returns from exile to ask for his help, all Thor can do is accept- especially when he learns that it's not just Asgard at stake; but also a very special secret that will change everything. Please R&R!
1. All But Alone

**Thor: Not of My Blood.**

**Summary: (AU)** "It's been almost a century since Malekith's defeat, and with the loss of (most) of his human friends, Thor has returned to Asgard- and his place at Odin's side, preparing to take the crown. But it turns out that nothing, not even the peace, was ever really what it seemed, especially when Loki, who chose exile instead of imprisonment for his crimes (and whom no one has seen nor heard from even once since), suddenly returns and asks for help, offering a trade that Thor can't refuse, and when the God of Thunder learns a very special secret and realizes that his brother's got more to loose than he thought, he makes a decision that might just finally make things right again. But even a hundred years can't change everything, and, as Thor's about to learn, sometimes time just doesn't mean a thing."

**Warning:** "This story will be pretty tame, **with the exception of a few scenes of violence and angst, so we'll be going with Rated T for those reasons. **Anyway, just so you know, I have watched both Thor movies and read up on a lot of Norse Mythology (courtesy of the Internet and my school's library), so I do kinda know what I'm talking about when it comes to that kind of stuff- but that doesn't mean I'm an expert! **So just go along with it and enjoy the story."**

**Disclaimer: "I don't own Thor. The world isn't ready for that kind of awesomeness." **

**Author's Note: "This story is dedicated to MischievousChaos." **

**Chapter One: All But Alone.**

"**In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."**

**- Abraham Lincoln.**

** In all honesty, Thor hadn't even wanted to come back, but in the end, he never really had a choice. **Earth had just lost its beauty without his friends there alongside him; and being a God amongst men had never appealed to Thor in the first place- he'd been there for Jane, for his friends, and protected the Earth alongside them in order to protect them- though, of course, most of them could probably have done that on their own.

It wasn't until Banner, the last surviving member of the Avengers and the last friend he had on Earth, passed that he decided to leave for good and, unsurprisingly, no one had protested. S.H.I.E.L.D was putting new teams together every other day on all corners of the world to keep up with the supervillians now; they didn't need Thor around as much as they used to, what with new mutants and super-beings popping up every other Saturday.

The last day Thor had spent on Earth had been silent- peaceful, actually, despite the circumstances.

It had been the day Banner's funeral service (one of the many Thor had attended over the recent years, and ultimately the last service he would attend on Earth). Banner had lived to the age of eighty-three, and while his "Hulk" had long since retreated as his body and health slowly declined, he retained his vast intelligence-

In fact, the night before he passed away, Thor had shared one final conversation with him.

_ I'm sorry._

That's how Thor began the conversation. That's how he began his last conversations with Cap (the second-to-last one to go, before Banner and after Stark, who could only laugh at the apology), Stark (who laughed so obnoxiously loud that he nearly got them all kicked out), Barton (who managed to shoot three last, successive straw-wrappers at each of his friend's backs as they left the room), and Jane (who simply called him an idiot as he held her in his arms that last night).

Ever the gentleman, Banner just accepted his unnecessary apology with a smile.

Like the others, he was not afraid.

In fact, he was cheerful; and quite happy to see him.

_What are you going to do once I'm gone? _He asked, _Return home?_

_I do not know._

_I think you should go home,_ He advised, after a long moment of lethargic silence, looking straight through him with dark brown eyes still alight with life despite it slowly slipping away, _You've still got family in Asgard, don't you?_

_My father._

_ Then you've got somewhere to go._

Banner sounded so relieved that Thor didn't have the heart to tell him, or indeed anyone else- not even Jane- that he had essentially given everything up in order to stay on Earth with them.

Odin, while he would probably accept him back into Asgard without a second thought, would certainly never truly regard him as his son again.

He would have to accept the same punishment as Loki; except that he wouldn't be essentially forced into it.

_I do._

Banner managed to sit up then, despite Thor putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him, and looked straight into his eyes as he said something that would ultimately help the God of Thunder decide to return in the first place.

_Don't you dare leave any regrets, Thor. Settle everything here on Earth, and then go home to settle everything there, too, _He said, quietly, seriously, _You can't really keep living unless you have no regrets doing it._

Just a few hours after that, Banner passed away peacefully in his sleep.

Like those before him, he died smiling.

After the service, as he pondered his friend's parting words (and the fact that he was now, quite literally, all alone in the world), he found himself outside Stark's favorite shawarma place, the _"__Elat Burger."_ And, after eating one of the sandwiches in his eccentric friend's memory, he headed out.

After traveling back to New Mexico, back to where this had all started, Thor called out to Heimdall.

To his surprise, the Gatekeeper heeded him almost instantly.

And so, after near fifty years of absence, Thor Odinsson returned home at last.

**N._.s._.S**


	2. What Happened to Loki

**Thor: Not of My Blood.**

**Summary: (AU)** "It's been almost a century since Malekith's defeat, and with the loss of (most) of his human friends, Thor has returned to Asgard- and his place at Odin's side, preparing to take the crown. But it turns out that nothing, not even the peace, was ever really what it seemed, especially when Loki, who chose exile instead of imprisonment for his crimes (and whom no one has seen nor heard from even once since), suddenly returns and asks for help, offering a trade that Thor can't refuse, and when the God of Thunder learns a very special secret and realizes that his brother's got more to loose than he thought, he makes a decision that might just finally make things right again. But even a hundred years can't change everything, and, as Thor's about to learn, sometimes time just doesn't mean a thing."

**Warning:** "This story will be pretty tame, **with the exception of a few scenes of violence and angst, so we'll be going with Rated T for those reasons. **Anyway, just so you know, I have watched both Thor movies and read up on a lot of Norse Mythology (courtesy of the Internet and my school's library), so I do kinda know what I'm talking about when it comes to that kind of stuff- but that doesn't mean I'm an expert! **So just go along with it and enjoy the story."**

**Disclaimer: "I don't own Thor. The world isn't ready for that kind of awesomeness." **

**Author's Note: "This story is dedicated to MischievousChaos." **

**N._.s._.S **

**Chapter Two: What Happened to Loki.**

** Thor wasn't surprised in the least to learn that Loki had survived, and while he would come to regret it, he smirked when he saw Loki standing with Odin, arms folded silently behind his stiff back.**

_ As he approached, he saw that under his brother's shirt, Loki's torso was heavily bandaged._

"You survived,"_ Thor said, ignoring the coldness in his own voice, _"Why am I not surprised?"

_ His brother's jade-green eyes blinked in clear surprise at the venom, but he quickly covered that up, and while his pale lips parted slightly, as if he was about to say something, he thought better of it, and looked away._

_The silence in the room was tense, but eventually, Loki was the one who broke it, side-stepping Thor and keeping his head down as he and a couple of guards (who kept their spears pointed at his back), silently left the room._

_ The God of Mischief didn't give them even one backward glance before the great, golden doors shut._

_ Thor didn't know his brother had been banished until later._

_ Apparently Loki had been given a truly "screwed up" (Stark's words, not Thor's) ultimatum:_

Stay in Asgard and spend the rest of his life imprisoned in a cell, alone.

_ - OR -_

Leave Asgard and never return, lest he be tried (and executed) for his various crimes.

_ Later, Odin said that Loki hadn't looked him in the eyes once, even when he made his choice; and would have left sooner had the All-Father not wanted him to stay until Thor returned._

_ He also said, that other than making his choice, Loki had only offered him six painfully cryptic words._

"I didn't do it for you."

**N._.s._.S**

** Loki never reappeared. **No one heard saw or heard anything from him for the next half-century and so, by the time Thor returned to Asgard, it was easy to just assume he was dead.

And no one exactly feared speculating about what ultimately happened to the wayward God.

_"Good riddance."_

Some thought he'd been killed by some nameless beast.

The more spiteful ones whispered that he died by his own hand.

_"Menace."_

No one was shy about their feelings about him, either.

_ "If he ever shows his face, I swear..."_

Thor never bothered to defend Loki as he once did, and ignored the comments.

Eventually his brother became a scar, an ugly wound that no one had ever bothered to close and bind. No one really cared where he'd gone, and no one even thought twice when Heimdall reported that Loki was lost to him in the coldest, darkest depths of the Jotunheim.

They were glad he was gone.

This time forever.

**N._.s._.S**


End file.
